Paris is the capital of France and the largest city in the country with about 12 million in the  metropolitan area. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the  Ile-de-France region also called Paris Region.  The first signs of habitation in this area date from 4200 BC. Much later from around 250  BC, the Parisii - a tribe of the Celts - lived there. Paris area was conquered by the  Romans in 52 BC. They established a permanent settlement there and called the town  Lutetia, later transformed into Lutèce. It expanded greatly over the following centuries,  becoming a prosperous city. After the collapse of the Roman empire which resulted in the  end of the Roman occupation, the city was renamed to Paris. It had a central position in  several of the kingdoms to follow.  The town is in our days one of the world's leading business and cultural centres. Its  influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science and the arts all  contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Paris is also one of the  most popular tourist destinations in the world. You can see marvellous parks and lots of  historical and modern buildings.   Here are the pics of our Paris trip 2008.  Mauritius is an island off the coast of Africa in the south-west Indian Ocean,  about 900 km east of Madagascar and 200 km south-east of the island  Reunion. The Republic of Mauritius includes the islands of St. Brandon,  Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. The area is about 2040 sq km and the  population is about 1.274.000. The main island is of volcanic origin and is  almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs   The Arabs visited the island in the 10th century. The Portuguese sailors came  there in the beginning of the 16th century but did not settle there. They were  followed by the Dutch sailors in 1598 who tried to establish a settlement.  They gave the island its name. Because of tough climatic conditions including  cyclones and the deterioration of the settlement, the Dutch abandoned the  island some decades later. France, which already controlled the neighbouring  Île Bourbon (now Réunion) seized Mauritius in 1715 and later renamed it Île  de France (Isle of France). Under French ruling, the island developed a  prosperous economy based on sugar production. The French lost the island to the British empire in 1810 and was officially  attached to the empire in 1815. They gave the island the former name Mauritius back. Mauritius attained independence in  1968 and the country became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1992.   The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis. Mauritian society includes people from many different ethnic groups. A majority of the  republic's residents are the descendants of people from the Indian subcontinent with substantial populations from continental  Africa, Madagascar, France, Great Britain, and China, among other places. The languages spoken are English, French and  Mauritian Creole.  Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle income diversified economy with  growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. Well known touristic attractions are the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, the  Tamarin Falls and the Chamarel coloured earth.   Now see the pictures of Mauritius 2008.  Rome is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio region with about 2,7 million  residents. It's metropolitan area is located in the central-western portion of the  Italian peninsula by the Tiber river and 24 km inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It is also the centre of the Roman Catholic Church which is  situated in an  enclave of Rome called State of the Vatican City where the Pope stays.   It was also the capital and centre of the ancient Roman Empire and today you  can see lots of traces  from that period like the Colosseum, Roman Forum and  much more. As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War  II relatively unharmed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and  Baroque in character. The Historic Centre of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a  World Heritage Site.  According to the legend, the city was founded by the twins Romulus and  Remus in 753 BC, but archaeological evidence supports the theory that Rome  grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill and in the area of the future  Roman Forum which were combined to a city in the 8th century BC. It became  the capital of the Roman Kingdom, later of the Roman Republic ( from 510 BC governed by the senate) and finally 31 BC of  the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Rome was ruled by the East Roman Empire and  often plundered by Germanic barbarians. In 751 AD the city was captured by the Lombards , then by the Franks which created  the Papal States with Rome the capital. The city flourished as a hub of cultural and artistic activity during the Renaissance and  the Baroque, under the patronage of the Papal court. In 1870 Rome was integrated into the Kingdom of Italy and got the  capital of the new Italy. After World War II Italy became a Republic with Rome staying the capital. Feel free to click on the picture above or the following link to see the pictures of Rome 2007.  Lanzarote is a Spanish island and belongs to the Canary Islands. It is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125  kilometres east of Morocco (North-Africa) and about 1000 km beneath  mainland Spain. It's the fourth largest of these islands with an area of 845.9  sq km and a population of about 127000. Tourism has been the mainstay of  the island's economy for the past forty years. The only other industry is  agriculture.   Lanzarote was settled by the Phoenicians around 11oo BC, later by the  Greeks and the Romans. In 999 the Arabs came to the island, followed by  the Portuguese and finally the Spaniards.  Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years  ago. It has a beautiful and wild landscape with a mountain range in the north  and one to the south where there is also the Timanfaya National Park with  the Montanas del  Fuego. There you see a lot of marks from volcanic  eruptions. From 1730 to 1736 the island was hit by a series of volcanic  eruptions. Lava covered almost a quarter of the island. Another volcanic  eruption occurred within the range of Tiagua in 1824 which was not as bad as  the major eruption between 1730 and 1736.   Now rejoice in the pictures of Lanzarote 2007.  Here you will see pictures of Barcelona, a fantastic and beautiful city located in Spain on  the Mediterranean coast about 120 km south-east of the Pyrenees and the border to  France. It's the second largest city of Spain, the capital of the autonomous region of  Catalonia and also home to the second largest airport. Barcelona city's population is  around 1,6 million people and is a major economic centre with one of the most important  Spanish Mediterranean ports.  According to a legend the city was founded by Hamilkar Barkas the father of the well  known Hannibal of Carthage. Later in 15 BC the Romans redrew the city as a castrum  (Roman military camp) and it became a Roman colony. In the Old town of the  contemporary city you can see remains from that time. After the Roman era in the fifth  century it was conquered by the Visigoths, by the Moors in the eighth century and  reconquered in 801 by Charlemagne's sun Louis who made Barcelona the seat of  Carolingian. In 985 the city was taken by AL-Mansur coming from the Caliphate of  Cordoba but he stayed not long there. The counts of Barcelona became increasingly  independent and later founded the kingdom of Aragon with Barcelona as its capital. In the  middle age it was an important sea and economic power with major colonies in Sardinia  and Sicily. Nowadays Barcelona is also a cultural and touristic attraction with a phenomenal  architecture as you will see in the pictures. The famous architectural works of Antoni Gaudi  and Lluis Domènech i Montaner can be seen everywhere in the town, like the Casa Milà, the Park Güell, the unfinished church  Sagrada Familia, Hospital de Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana. The centre of the town is the Plaça de Catalunya  with the old town centre Barri Gòtic nearby. The upper half of the Avingunda Diagonal is the main commercial area of the city.  Barcelona has also several skyscrapers with the most beautiful and artistic one being the Torre Agbar (144 m high). The most  famous street is La Rambla with at the end near the port the statue of Christopher Columbus .The capital of Catalonia contains  several parks with Montjuïc Park being the largest and Park Güell being one of the most famous.  But look and see! Click on the picture above or the following link  to watch the images of Barcelona 2007.  Disclaimer This website is copyrighted by Guy Stephany. The appearance of external links on this site does not constitute endorsement by  Holidayspicsandclips.eu of linked web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. Holidayspicsandclips.eu is not responsible  for the privacy practices, activities, or content of aforementioned sites. Holidayspicsandclips.eu does not exercise any editorial control over the  information you may find at linked locations. Here  are pictures and a video of a second trip to the marvellous town of Barcelona in September 2009. By clicking on the picture below you can watch a video clip of Paris in January 2009.